Nick Auditore single-handedly fired the Okanagan Challenge into first place on Saturday. The 22-year-old rookie forward from Phoenix, Ariz., netted a hat trick in the Challenge‘s 3-2 win over the Whitecaps Prospects in Burnaby. The goals, his eighth, ninth and 10th on the season, lifted Auditore into the Pacific Coast Soccer League scoring lead, surpassing Fraser Valley‘s Gianni Tsouhoulas and Steve Deblasio of the Vancouver Thunderbirds, both of whom had nine tallies in 12 games entering the weekend. "Nick is quite fast, and if you asked him, he‘d probably say he should have about 15 goals right now," Challenge coach Clint Schneider said of Auditore. "Nick‘s goal, and our goal for him, too, is to be at the top of the league as far as goal scoring, and I think it‘s a very realistic goal for him at this point. "He‘s just got to keep it going and keep putting the ball in the net." More importantly, the win vaulted the Challenge (9-3-1) past the idle Khalsa Sporting Club (8-4-2) of Coquitlam for top spot in the standings. Auditore couldn‘t carry the Challenge to another win on Sunday, however, as the Kelowna-based club dropped a 2-1 decision to the fourth-place Fraser Valley Action (6-2-5) in Langley. Still, Auditore‘s efforts to date have been impressive to say the least. A senior at Mid Western State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, Auditore has also left an impression on his coach, who knows what it takes to play at the next level. "If Nick continues to grow and mature as a player, and work hard, I think the sky is the limit for the kid," said Schneider, an assistant coach at Simon Fraser University who also graduated from Mid Western State University. "For Nick to get (to the next level), he‘s got to put in the work in the off-season, and continue to train like every training session is his last." Auditore isn‘t looking that far ahead. His focus is on helping the Challenge maintain top spot between now and the PCSL‘s 16-team playoff tournament, which Kelowna is hosting, July 25 and 26. "First place isn‘t a bad thing," Auditore said. "That‘s what our goal was, to go into playoffs in first. The tournament is here, so we want to come in on top and go out on top." As for his goal-scoring prowess, Auditore was quick to downplay his individual impact and disperse the credit to his teammates. "Everybody chips in and scores, so it‘s a team thing," Auditore said. "Whatever you‘re teammates are doing, it reflects on everybody else when you win." Spending his first summer in Canada, encouraged to come north of the border by an acquaintance in Winfield, Auditore is enjoying life in the Okanagan on and off the pitch. "I decided to see what it‘s all about up here, and it‘s pretty fun," he said. "The town‘s pretty fun, the team‘s all good guys and the league is good preparation for the college season." Top of Page
